It'll take some magical drafting, but come 2020 the Mavs could be the next dominant team in the NBA

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Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes celebrates after making a 3-pointer in front of head coach Rick Carlisle during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)

Editor's note: This story first appeared on Dallasnews.com on June 14, before the Mavericks used the No. 9 overall pick to draft guard Dennis Smith Jr.

While Cleveland, San Antonio and one or two others ponder the wrong approach -- free-agency plans to catch up to the champion Golden State Warriors, which will prove futile -- the Mavericks are one of about 20 teams standing on the sidelines just patiently trying to improve.

And that's actually the best choice. The only way to beat Golden State?

It's to be Golden State.

We can debate the Warriors' place in history and how they would fare in some computerized matchup with the '90s Bulls or the '80s Showtime Lakers or Celtics. It's fun but irrelevant especially if you're one of the present-day teams that has fallen hopelessly behind the Golden State monster, owner of two titles after winning 67-73-67 games the last three seasons.

And the only way to be Golden State, to copy the model that carried this team to an NBA-record 73 wins a year ago even before acquiring Kevin Durant, is to hit home runs with less than optimum draft picks.

Is it in the best interest of the Mavs to be back in the lottery in 2018?

Now if that causes you immediately to raise a skeptical eyebrow regarding the Mavericks and their draft history, I fully understand. My eyebrows are so high I can barely see the computer screen right now.

After all, this is a team that made three picks before the Warriors picked Draymond Green at No. 35 in 2012. Jared Cunningham and Bernard James were whiffs. Jae Crowder became a good player ... for the Celtics.

But let's put that aside because here's the point that must be made about the Warriors. In 2012, the Miami Heat "Super Team" that LeBron James refuses to call a "Super Team" for some reason won its first title. James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had slipped up against the Mavs their first year together, but after 2012 the thinking around the league was that this was the first of several championships for the Heat.

Turned out to be only the first of two although the Heat went to four straight NBA finals before James broke up the party. But in 2012 when teams were trying to catch up to what Miami had assembled, absolutely no one was betting on the Golden State Warriors as the next team to win a pair of championship rings.

The Warriors were 23-43 in that strike-shortened season. Sure, they already had Steph Curry, the No. 7 pick in 2009, but so what? In his first three seasons, Curry never averaged 20 points, he missed 66 games with injuries and his team had not sniffed the playoffs.

In other words, the 2012 Warriors were as likely to become the next dynasty as the 2017 Mavericks are today.

But in that draft, Golden State added Harrison Barnes (sounds familiar) in the first round, then scored Green with the No. 35 pick. A year later they grabbed Klay Thompson with the No. 11 pick, won 47 games and, as a sixth seed, upset Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

NBA Finals takeaways: What Mavericks can learn from Golden State Warriors

The 2013 Warriors still didn't win as many games as the Brooklyn Nets. But greatness was around the corner.

The Mavericks can't bemoan the fact they didn't win the lottery after a 49-loss season. They have the No. 9 pick, and there's no reason that won't turn into a solid player. Oddly enough, the Mavs already have Barnes, who was a solid contributor in these Warriors' first championship and the 73-win season even if he was usually the No. 4 option. Dallas is more likely to need him to be in its top two in coming seasons, and after averaging 19 this season, that seems doable.

The question of course: Who will be the No. 1 option?

Maybe it's the ninth pick this season, maybe it's a high pick a year from now after the Mavericks miss the playoffs next spring.

It's all a long shot and there are a dozen other lottery teams this year hoping to strike gold. If you're a Mavs fan, though, you need to accept that Golden State owns the next two or three seasons. The Warriors' dominance won't last as long as it looks like it could right now because dominance almost never does.

But an unsuspecting team will rise up to challenge them by 2020. It could be anybody.

If you think the Mavericks are a lousy candidate, you might be right and probably are. Just remember that Golden State wasn't exactly a paragon of drafting excellence when they slugged home runs with the seventh, 11th and 35th picks in three separate drafts to construct the platform that could attract Durant and create a monster.